


Miko no Michi

by MarsDragon



Category: Psychic Force
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2012-12-21
Packaged: 2017-11-21 21:14:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/602150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarsDragon/pseuds/MarsDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Shiori was six, her father died.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Miko no Michi

**Author's Note:**

  * For [foxinthestars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxinthestars/gifts).



When Shiori was six, her father died. He had been an honest and hard working farmer, and he fell ill the hospital with the modern doctors was too far away. Later, Shiori's mother would sometimes stare at her hands, or the rice, or a tree, and say "If we had gone to town earlier..." She never got further than that. She and her daughter were lucky to have been taken in by her husband's aunt. The aunt provided a roof, and food, and work. Her mother often reminded Shiori that they must be grateful for what they had. Even if the roof leaked and the food was a few bites of daikon or cabbage, and the work was never-ending. 

Shiori told herself to be grateful every day: a constant stream of words which eventually faded into meaningless gabble. It helped, just a bit.

\---

When Shiori was eight, she nearly drowned. She had been drawing water from the stream in the dead of winter, just before the New Year. The rocks were slippery, the footing treacherous, and the bucket too heavy for a skinny little girl. The river took her, and for a second Shiori was more grateful to it than she had ever been to her aunt. 

She fainted as soon as the water closed over her head. 

She woke up to water dripping on her head. Despite the chill in the air and water, she didn't feel cold at all. Looking around her, Shiori recognized the area as a small natural waterfall a few kilometers downstream from the village. She was completely unhurt. Very carefully, she gave thanks to whatever had helped her, the kami of the stream and forest, and any other spirits in the area or following her, on general principle. Feeling stronger than she had in a long time, Shiori picked up the filled bucket lying in the stream, bowed an extra time just to be safe, and walked back to the village with a spring in her step.

\---

When Shiori was ten, a god came to her in a dream. She had been sleeping pressed up next to her mother for warmth when she heard a voice all around her. She sat up as if she wasn't asleep at all and listened. The room shrank around her as if Shiori could feel the emptiness of the entire universe around them. Outside there was rushing, like being enveloped in a mighty river or wrapped by a gigantic dragon. Shiori's tongue felt frozen in her mouth. 

The voice told her he was the god of the river. He would take her as his chosen and through her would bring truth to the world. That he would show her proof, and that she must devote her entire life to him. Shiori agreed. What else could someone do, when a god wanted one's service?

The next morning there was a scroll resting beside her head in a language no one could read. But the mountain monks knew what it was, on their seasonal visit to town the next week. They bowed before her before taking her with them to their sanctuary.

Shiori thought she saw her mother crying as they walked away. 

\---

When Shiori was twelve, she first heard of psychics. They were appearing in the world now, people that took a shortcut to power. People who could fly and break rocks, do _magic_ , without years of learning the proper rites and the control that time and learning gave. 

Of course their power was misused. How could it not be? People simply were not meant to harness the powers of nature without the blessing and leave of the spirits that governed it. It was worse than the misapplication of rites and sloppy purification. That someone could be polluted and still have power...it was against natural law. 

Without being asked her god ordered that they all must be wiped from the earth. Shiori agreed. 

\---

When Shiori was fifteen, she was kidnapped. Somehow the devil's children had found them here. In the light of flickering lanterns and spirit wards Shiori could see lances of pure darkness shoot through the temple of the Shadow Plateau. Up above, a tall blond man laughed and hurled more daggers of jet black that carved through ward and flesh alike. Ichiro went down without even a whimper, and Ryoutaro was left trying to mend wounds that did not bleed. Genshin was holding a barrier around the front gate; he must have just returned from a hunting trip. Shiori was running forward to protect Ichiro and Ryoutaro when the blond man grabbed her and flew away, still laughing. Somewhere beneath her Genshin screamed in rage and flung his rosary. But it was too late and already the mountain dropped away beneath them into the cold night air. 

Shiori chanted and prepared fire to blast the man from the sky, but he shook her and viciously declared that while he had orders not to hurt her too badly, he was also bad at following orders. No one could blame him for dropping a struggling prisoner, and the ground was far, far beneath them. Shiori suddenly became aware of how she had not yet mastered flight. 

It was odd, Shiori thought. He was the first foreigner she had ever seen. She wondered if they were all like this. 

\---

When Shori was in her cell, she tried to keep practicing the rites. She carefully picked out all the meat and cereal from the food they brought her and ate only the tiniest bites of the blandest vegetables. They wouldn't bring her buckets of water, so she made do by dropping her drinking water over her head. It was never cold enough. She beat on the tray as rhythmically and enticingly as possible to call forth the kami. She chanted the Heart Sutra over and over, falling into a trance where she could ask her kami anything, anything at all. She had her questions all planned out. Who are you? How are things in the spirit world? Is there anything you want? How do I get out of here? 

Her kami did not answer.


End file.
